The Caspian lizard (Darevskia caspica) is a recently described endemic of the Hyrcanian forests of Northern Iran. The paper presents new data on the reproductive biology of D. caspica obtained in laboratory conditions. Breeding females have a body length of 53.4– 64.4 mm and a mass of 2.96–3.60 g. Females produce from one to three clutches per season, each of which contains 1–6 eggs. The length of these eggs is 10.35–13.95 mm, width 6.19– 7.59 mm, and weight 0.27–0.45 g. The mass of an entire clutch of eggs is 0.43–1.84 g or 11.94- 47.18% of the female’s weight. Incubation duration is 55–66 days at a temperature of 25–27°C and 42–49 days at a temperature of 28–30°C, respectively. Newborn lizards have a body length of 24.45–28.56 mm, a tail length of 38.00–53.00 mm and a mass of 0.34–0.53 g. Young females begin laying eggs 319–593 days after their hatching. It is noted that Caspian lizards have reproductive indicators similar to other representatives of the genus Darevskia, but are characterized by early puberty and high fertility per season.
The paper presents the results of laboratory reproduction of Regel’s racerunner (Eremias regeli). Offspring was obtained from natural individuals (2 females and 2 males) captured in the vicinity of the Bokhtar town (Khatlon region, Republic of Tajikistan). Captive-born animals (3 females and 2 males) began laying eggs at the age of 7 months. The lizards from nature reproduced twice a year, while the animals obtained in the laboratory lay eggs up to three times per season. The clutches of both natural and laboratory lizards contained from 2 to 4 eggs. In total, 9 fertile clutches and 26 eggs were studied, which 18 newborn lizards were obtained from. The mass of one clutch ranged from 28.97 to 54.68% of the female mass. The eggs had a length of 12.3–18.1 mm, a width of 7.3–9.4 mm and a weight of 0.53–0.95 g. Incubation lasted 56–99 days. The newborn lizards had a body length of 26.5–35.1 mm, a tail length of 41.1–60.0 mm and a mass of 0.60–1.11 g. Comparing the reproductive parameters of E. regeli with other representatives of the tribus Eremiadini, the authors note relatively small sizes of adult females, their low fertility, but large sizes of eggs and newborn juveniles.
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